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Though we’re officially in the Summer semester at school, I was still taking MedSurg up until the first day of June, when I had my final exam. I needed to get an 85% or higher on that final in order to pass the class, due to that F I got earlier in the year.

I took my test, went out with some friends, got drunk really early in the day as I could barely stand the suspense. Then around 1 PM I got the email.

It read: Congratulations. See you Monday in Pediatrics.

I passed!!! I was so happy I was laughing and crying at the same time. Unreal.

I got a C in the class, passed it and can continue on with the summer specialties: Pediatrics, OB and Community Nursing.

It’s been two weeks since classes started and I can tell you I have rediscovered the meaning to the word “overwhelmed.” In two weeks we have covered what would normally take about two months, and in Fundamentals alone we have covered what it took an entire class at FIU (my Intro to Nursing Concepts class). So yeah, overwhelming.

This semester so far I am taking the following classes:

Fundamentals of Nursing: Self-explanatory, everything from the history and theoretical foundations to how to do the basics of all nursing skills.

Fundamentals of Nursing Skills Lab: Where we learn the basic skills all nurses need to know, from washing hands to putting an enema!

Adult Health Assessment: Learning how to do both health history and assessment of a patient.

Already this week I have my Skills Lab examination and a quiz for Assessment, and next week the first exam for Fundamentals. Once February starts, the Skills class gets replaced with the Clinical rotation, and for that month we’ll be practicing at a local nursing home. In March, we start a second half of the semester and many of my classes change, but I’ll get to those down the line.

So far it’s amazing, but I keep having this fear that someone will tell me that my presence there was a mistake and that I need to leave. I haven’t had much time to let it all sink in, and I suspect it will only sink in after I graduate. That’s how fast we’re going. This has also made me learn whole new ways to study, and while I’m taking a few minutes to write this, I already feel guilty that I’m not reading one of my books.

The material is extensive, and the one good thing is that all of us in the class are in the same place, freaking out about the amount of material and wondering if we’re studying right or not. I assume once we have our first exam we will have a better idea of what to expect and study patterns will shift to reflect that.

So that’s the first two weeks. I continue to be curious how each of us in the class made it there. We’re all still getting to know each other (which is weird when we have to practice procedures on each other — though not the enema). Now gotta get back to studying.

See that? That’s my ID and parking decal, making it official that I’m a student at the Miami Dade College Medical Campus, Accelerated Nursing Option. Classes start tomorrow, January 4th, and from there it’s a whole crazy year to becoming an RN. I’m freaking out, but you know what? Bring it!

Congratulations on your provisional acceptance to the January 2012, Accelerated Nursing Option. I am pleased that you have chosen Miami Dade College – School of Nursing to further your nursing career. While enrolled in the program, it is my desire that your educational experience be a rewarding and successful one.

I got the email yesterday afternoon while I was stuck in traffic and I couldn’t believe it when I read it. Then I started hollering and dancing in my car, which prompted strange looks from those around me. Then I spoke to my wife and grandparents, and sent a few text messages to my siblings and close friends who have been following this odyssey.

I am stunned with amazement and happiness. I have two weeks to take care of a long list of items they require in order for the acceptance into the program to be permanent, but I’ve already started to get the ball rolling.

On Friday 8/26 I finished the process of applying for the Accelerated Nursing program at Miami Dade College.

I headed that morning to the Medical Center Campus in the Health District of downtown Miami (which I have to say, is an awesome location, both for its proximity to my home in Miami Beach, and for its proximity to both Jackson and UM Hospitals) to take the TEAS V Exam. Two hours later I was done with the test and had an overall score of 77.3%, certainly over the 50-something percentage I needed to apply for the program.

After, I had to go see an advisor and after waiting a bit for one (and running up and down between the 1st and 2nd floors to pay for my application), we realized that FIU had not sent in the electronic transcript that I had requested a week prior. Which meant I had to waste yet another hour running up and down the three floors of the Medical Center Campus trying to find a public computer to print a copy of my unofficial transcript. That done, I finally met with the advisor and got everything squared away. My application was officially turned in (pending the arrival of my official transcript) and now I just need to wait for their answer.

In all honesty, MDC was never my first choice, but I am warming up to the idea of going there for the Accelerated Nursing Program really fast. It would be a very busy, very hectic year, but it would be one year, after which I could take the NCLEX and get my license as an RN. Here’s hoping.

Things are starting to move after a busy summer travel season. Today I went to Miami Dade College Medical Campus to get advised on the Accelerated Nursing Program.

I have all the pre-requisite classes I need (actually, better than what they ask for, as I took them at FIU and there the classes are more challenging) and the pre-requisite degree needed for the Accelerated program. I have been reactivated in the MDC system as a student (I graduated MDC in 1999!) and have ordered my official FIU transcript to be sent to MDC. All that is left is taking the TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills – yes, it sounds dumb that I have to take this after having taken the HESI, which is far more difficult and specialized for Nursing, but that’s what they want), which I am doing next Friday the 26th.

I am still sending in my application to both Nova and Barry Universities as well, just in case. The ideal outcome here is that one of them will accept me and I can start next Spring!